Aspheric ablation: good for hyperopic presbyopes

Aspheric ablation is a good surgical option for enhancing near vision in hyperopic presbyopes, according to Marc Lafontaine and colleagues from the Canadian multicentre LASIK trial of aspheric treatments for the correction of hyperopic presbyopia.

A total of 93 hyperopic presbyopic eyes that underwent aspheric ablation were included in the study and used as the basis for predictive factors. Mean preoperative sphere was 1.67 D and the mean cylinder was 0.43 D. Pre- and postoperative subjective questionnaires were handed-out to each subject.

All patients achieved simultaneous 20/25 distance vision and J3 vision at 12-months follow-up. Patient satisfaction was good and spectacle independence was achieved and maintained in more than half of subjects.

Predictive factors of good outcomes include patients requiring glasses for distance vision preoperatively, hyperopic refractive error to appreciate a three line or more improvement and three to six months for neural adaptation to realise the benefit of correction.

The study found that aspheric ablation is a good surgical option for enhancing near vision in hyperopic presbyopes and that patient selection is a key factor in predicting good refractive outcomes and satisfaction.